ChuChu Rocket

CHUCHU ROCKET
HDR-0039
Copyright © 1999 Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Sega Dreamcast, 1-4 Players
Puzzle
Modem, Purupuru Pack ("Jump Pack" in the U.S.), Arcade Stick, Dreamcast Keyboards, VGA Adapter
Available now in Japan
¥2,800
Where to buy
FAQ

Aditional media:
Comercial
Home Page

—by Eric "Scanner" Luce

Tired of dizzying 3D perspectives? Had enough racing around the racetrack at 60 frames per second? Are you after some good ol' mad-dash fun? After something cute? Or perhaps something to stick in front of the kids so they leave you alone while you go and play Half-Life on the PC? Then you may want to look at CHUCHU ROCKET from Sega for the Dreamcast.
This is the newest game by the Sonic Team. It seems that they have taken a break from the all-out dizzying ride they gave us with Sonic Adventure and have gone back to a much simpler, yet addictive, game that has both a versus mode and puzzle mode.
The story is that far in the future, on a far away world, there is a race of space-faring beings—the ChuChu's. These are not mice! They are space mice! One day, the voracious KapuKapu invaded the ChuChu's space port! These are not cats, but space cats! What are the ChuChu's to do?! They must get to their rockets before the KapuKapu can swallow them. You must help them by giving them directions to their ships. Their space port is a 12 by 9 maze with walls, space ships, and black pits. The ChuChu, for being a space-faring race, are kind of dumb when they are in a panic. They will run straight until they hit an obstacle. If this obstacle is a wall, they will turn right. If this obstacle is a pit, they will fall through the floor. If this obstacle is one of their space ships, they will enter it and await lift-off. If they run into a KapuKapu, however, they die.
In the puzzle mode version of the game, it is very reminiscent of LEMMINGS. You place arrows on the maze to direct your ChuChu's. You have to figure out where to place your arrows before setting the game in action. Steer the ChuChu's to their rocket. Prevent them from running in to any KapuKapu's.
There is also a stage challenge mode where you get as many arrows as you want. You can not place them before the ChuChu's start their mad dash. You have to place them as fast as possible and not lose a single ChuChu. This can be played against another player to see who can make the best time.
However, these are not really the fun versions of the game. The fun version is the versus mode. In the versus mode, you can play the game with 4 local players, team battle with local players, or over the network (with up to 4 other players over the network.)
The goal for these versus games is the same: Whoever has the most ChuChu's in their rocket when it lifts off 3 minutes after the game starts wins. You can only place three arrows at a time on the map. You can not place any more arrows until one of your previously placed arrows runs out. You try to get ChuChu's into your rocket, prevent them from going in to your opponents rockets, and prevent KapuKapu from entering your rocket.
When a KapuKapu enters a rocket, one third of the ChuChu's in that rocket are lost. It may be a good idea, if some competitor has a lot of ChuChu's, to attempt to steer a KapuKapu into their rocket.
To complicate this are the special prize ChuChu's. When one of these enters a rocket a random surprise is sprung. The surprises are:

•   ChuChu Fever!
Many, many, many ChuChu's come streaming out of the generators. This is your big chance to get ahead.

•   Neko Fever!
The generators will spew about 8 or so KapuKapu.

•   Everyone Change!
All your rockets are swapped with other players.

•   Speed up!
Everything goes twice as fast.

•   Speed Down!
Everything goes at half speed.

•   Neko Present!
Every other player gets a KapuKapu thrown in to their rocket.

•   ChuChu all to one place!
All the ChuChu will be thrown into your rocket for a short time.

•   Reset!
All of the arrows are cleared and the action pauses for a couple of seconds, letting players put down all their arrows.

This game is also Internet-enabled—you can browse the CHUCHU ROCKET web site from the game and you can also log on to one of several CHUCHU ROCKET servers where you can chat with other players and engage in the made-dash competition online. This is an actual Internet based game so it can work with a local ISP instead of making the player dial long distance to Japan. The CHUCHU ROCKET servers store rankings as well so you can see who is the best ChuChu out there.
This is a simple, easy, fun game. Very cute and at times very stressful! We take no blame for addictions you may develop while playing this one. For those of you with only U.S. Dreamcasts—do not worry—the word is that this game will be released in the U.S. complete with network play.

Rating: 8/10